‘Suite Française’ (15)

****

In the summer of 1940, France surrendered to the invading German forces. Deep in the country, the small farming town of Bussey is soon inundated with German troops. With an officer billeted in their house, Lucille and her overbearing mother-in-law try to continue with their day to day lives, whilst waiting for news of Lucille’s husband, away fighting at the Front.

We all know the story: a handsome man and a pretty woman meet and fall in love, but their chances at happiness are scuppered by an irreconcilable division, and in this case, the division is that he is German and she is French. Conveniently, however, this is the only thing in their way as his wife doesn’t love him, and her husband is a cheating bastard – that could’ve been tricky! Suite Française doesn’t add anything to this age-old Romeo and Juliet story, and yet it is a joy to behold a story acted, filmed and directed with as much care as this. Michelle Williams, ever reliable, plays Lucille, a rather unlikely heroine, trapped in the shadow of her mother-in-law (the excellent Kristin Scott Thomas), who falls in love with Matthias Schoenaerts’ Bruno. As you would expect, all does not go smoothly, but in the initial wooing stages of the relationship, the stolen glances, the brief touches and the repressed conversations, are kept fresh by the two leads. Essentially the story of two beautiful people being filmed in the beauty of the French countryside, the camera artistically frames our lovers, often resting long upon their faces to read the tiny traces of emotion that largely go unsaid.

Although the love story is at the heart of the film, this is also a tale of a community being torn apart by the arrival of the soldiers. Unfortunately, the film collapses into some clichés within the wider story, such as the token bad-Nazi, Bonnet, with whom Bruno has a prickly relationship. Similarly, I will never forgive the convenient reveal that Lucille’s husband was unfaithful, ‘allowing’ her to pursue Bruno. It felt like a wholly shoe-horned moment, and jarred with the film. There are some shocking scenes, however, to counteract the tropes, including the delivering of letters about other members of the community, and a brutal execution, which help to raise this above what could have been a very average doomed love story.  

Whilst undoubtedly unoriginal, Suite Française is still an enjoyable watch, not least because of its two engaging leads. Williams is excellent, as is Schoenarts, and who doesn’t enjoy watching two beautiful people wooing each other surrounded by the French countryside at the height of summer. Brief enough to not outstay its welcome, and yet long enough to spend time on the small moments of affection, this is an ‘enjoyable heartbreaker’.